Jeff Graw
StarChart Interactive
I decided to start writing a review of Fallout 3, in between my time playing it, and will look to host it here or at a blog. I'll share it with you as I write it. First and foremost, let's talk about combat:
Perhaps the greatest disappointment in Fallout 3, and the only real step backwards from Oblivion, is the combat system. VATS is a lame attempt at fan service at best, and a glorified cheat mode at worst. Unlike real turn based combat, getting in free shots doesn’t add one ounce depth, but the frequent pauses do take a huge amount of energy out of combat. Remove VATS and lower the enemy difficulty to compensate, and presto! You already have a better game. If, as a designer, you must give the player a “cheat mode” then at least do something that doesn’t ruin the flow of the game -- bullet time, super powers, etc. Even worse than VATS is the Pip Boy 3000, an interface that has been designed with consoles in mind. There is no quick weapon switch in Fallout 3, so every time you want to use another weapon or item you have to open up the Pip Boy (which again pauses the action) and scroll through a large list of items to select it. Unlike classic Fallout, there is no penalty for switching objects or using items. In essence, this makes the user invincible and makes endurance a dump stat, since any time your character takes damage you can simply pause the action and take as many stimpacks as you need. To make things even more boring, the AI is very basic (think Dues Ex AI with a bit of sidestepping), and opponents scale to your level the first time you enter an area. Combat is easily the worst part of Fallout 3, and there’s a lot of it in the game.
Perhaps the greatest disappointment in Fallout 3, and the only real step backwards from Oblivion, is the combat system. VATS is a lame attempt at fan service at best, and a glorified cheat mode at worst. Unlike real turn based combat, getting in free shots doesn’t add one ounce depth, but the frequent pauses do take a huge amount of energy out of combat. Remove VATS and lower the enemy difficulty to compensate, and presto! You already have a better game. If, as a designer, you must give the player a “cheat mode” then at least do something that doesn’t ruin the flow of the game -- bullet time, super powers, etc. Even worse than VATS is the Pip Boy 3000, an interface that has been designed with consoles in mind. There is no quick weapon switch in Fallout 3, so every time you want to use another weapon or item you have to open up the Pip Boy (which again pauses the action) and scroll through a large list of items to select it. Unlike classic Fallout, there is no penalty for switching objects or using items. In essence, this makes the user invincible and makes endurance a dump stat, since any time your character takes damage you can simply pause the action and take as many stimpacks as you need. To make things even more boring, the AI is very basic (think Dues Ex AI with a bit of sidestepping), and opponents scale to your level the first time you enter an area. Combat is easily the worst part of Fallout 3, and there’s a lot of it in the game.
